No one prepares you for this. The mind though resilient, and majestic, is an enigma of delicacy. As I gather my thoughts about the current scene of my life, I am honest with the lack of knowledge a person faces when the mind is compromised.

An individual is never prepared for the emptiness felt when the mind around you is compromised. Condensing the experience into a collection of words seems almost futile to the deepest core of the self. Existence has a way of making you befriend your most potent of demons and your darkest of nights. When those we love lose their identity and industry, we face 1000 daily terminations. However, the emotional intensity often taints our ability to see how the darkness leads to the light, even if we cannot see. We become blinded by rage and the process of rising is tainted by the pointless need for control. I’m doing so, pain is caused in times where compassion is needed. Distraction hijacks the healing ability of connection.

Wakes remind us of the conclusion we are unable to outwit, outrun or outsource. The need to stand fast in front of the coffin of a good friend is not an option but a necessity. In doing so, the darkness has no power and the light creeps in. When life strips you down to the studs, all you have is your humanity, your empathy, and the subtle fact that breath continues to saturate your lungs in that moment. These tools solidify the compass to navigate the cacophony of life. Tragedy with the confluence of fact. Fact that it is in the moments of laughter, joy, surprise we are whole. When it is gone, these riches are never tainted, but merely solidified in the weavings of time. Darkness is never defeat, but merely awakening. It is a gift either denied or avoided by many. In that darkness, we find our true self, solidify our resolve and go boldly into that tomorrow.